Method and apparatus for crushing ice within a refrigerator

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for crushing ice within a refrigerator are disclosed. The apparatus includes an ice making, storage and dispensing compartment; an ice storage bin, an agitator, an axle, and a crusher. The crusher includes a plurality of fixed blades, a plurality of rotatable crusher arms affixed to the axle, a front wall having an opening vertically above the fixed blades, sidewalls sealing a portion of the front wall to a portion of the back wall, leaving a predetermined void and a motor for rotating the axle to drive the agitator and crusher. The method includes the steps of rotating an axle, in first direction and second directions to dispense whole ice cubes or crushed ice cubes, respectively, from the ice dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The current invention relates generally to refrigerators, and more specifically, to methods and apparatus for crushing ice within a refrigerator.

Generally, a refrigerator includes an ice storage and an ice dispensing device. Typically the ice dispensing device can dispense whole cubes of ice or crushed cubes of ice to a user.

It is now common in the art of refrigerators to provide an ice dispenser which has the ability to dispense both whole cubes of ice and crushed cubes of ice, by modifying the direction of ice crushing arms, depending on the requirements of a user. It is known in the art, in a typical ice dispenser where both crushed and whole cubes of ice can be dispensed, whole ice cubes are moved to a dispensing region from a storage region by means of a rotating actuator wire. The rotating actuator wire transports whole ice cubes which have been deposited in an ice storage bin to where the whole ice cubes are either crushed and dispensed or dispensed whole.

This rotating actuator wire has disadvantages, including mechanical failure where the drive motor fails, jamming of ice pieces during rotation and mechanical failure of the rotating actuator wire itself.

It is known to include an ice crushing mechanism between where the ice is stored and where the ice is dispensed to a user. The ice crushing mechanism typically includes stationary teeth, rotating crusher arms, barrier arms and friction washers. This ice crushing mechanism receives whole cubes of ice into a crushing housing and depending on the direction of rotation, will dispense either whole ice cubes or crushed ice cubes.

If whole ice cubes are desired, the rotating arms are rotated so that a flat edge leads, moving whole ice cubes to the dispensing area formed by the barrier arms and dispensing the whole ice cubes to the user.

If crushed ice cubes are desired, the rotating arms are rotated so that a serrated edge leads, moving whole ice cubes from the barrier arm to the surface of the stationary teeth, thereby crushing the whole cubes. The barrier arm rotates to block passage of whole ice cubes when crushed ice cubes are desired, because of the placement of friction washers on the axle supporting the barrier arms and the rotating arms. This friction washer causes a specific amount of friction to move the barrier arm and block dispensing of whole ice cubes in one direction of rotation when crushed ice cubes are desired, but not too much friction so that the barrier arm can not subsequently rotate in the opposite direction and allow dispensing of whole ice cubes.

This known design has disadvantages including the unreliability of the friction washers as they wear during use, the limited lifetime of the friction washers, the extra steps during assembly required to include friction washers and assembly arms and the narrow manufacturing specifications for the friction washers to ensure a precise friction force which is high enough to perform their function, but not so high as to cause rapid wear.

Therefore, an ability to transport whole ice cubes which have been deposited in an ice storage bin to where the ice is dispensed and an ability to dispense both crushed ice cubes and whole ice cubes more efficiently and more reliably is desired. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for crushing ice within refrigerators that is more efficient and reliable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As described herein, the exemplary embodiments of the current invention overcome one or more of the above or other disadvantages known in the art.

One aspect of the current invention relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises; an ice making, storage and dispensing compartment; an ice storage bin positioned within the ice making, storage and dispensing compartment and configured to store whole ice cubes therein, an axle, and agitator affixed to the axle, a motor affixed to the axle, and a crusher. The crusher includes a plurality of fixed blades, a plurality of rotatable crusher arms affixed to the axle. The rotatable crusher arms are configured to crush whole ice cubes between the plurality of fixed blades and the plurality of rotatable crusher arms when rotated in a first direction and to deliver whole ice cubes when rotated in an opposite second direction. The crusher also includes a front wall having an opening vertically above the fixed blades which puts the crusher housing in communication with the ice storage bin, a back wall, and a sidewall sealing a portion of the front wall to a portion of the back wall, leaving a predetermined exit void in the sidewall to allow whole or crushed ice cubes to exit the crusher.

Another aspect of the current invention relates to a method of dispensing ice cubes from a refrigerator, the refrigerator including an ice making, storage and dispensing compartment and a controller for controlling the direction of rotation of an axle based on a user's input, the ice making, storage and dispensing compartment including an ice storage bin, a motor, the axle, the axle being affixed to the motor, and an ice dispenser, the ice dispenser including a crusher housing, a plurality of rotatable crusher arms, the plurality of rotatable crusher arms being affixed to the axle, a plurality of fixed blades, an opening in the crusher housing allowing ice to be dispensed to a user and a wall between the crusher housing and ice storage bin configured to allow whole ice cubes to pass from the ice storage bin to the crusher housing, the method comprising; rotating the axle, an agitator being affixed to the axle, in either a first direction or a second direction to facilitate the movement of whole ice cubes from the ice storage bin to the ice dispenser, and rotating the axle to dispense whole ice cubes or crushed ice cubes from the ice dispenser.

These and other aspects and advantages of the current invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the current invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 with the refrigerator doors being in an open position and the freezer door being removed for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ice dispenser;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the interior of the ice storage bin;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the interior of the ice storage bin;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the crusher; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary control system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary refrigerator 10. While the embodiments are described herein in the context of a specific refrigerator 10, it is contemplated that the embodiments may be practiced in other types of refrigerators. Therefore, as the benefits of the herein described embodiments accrue generally to ice dispensing from the refrigerator, the description herein is for exemplary purposes only and is not intended to limit practice of the invention to a particular refrigeration appliance or machine, such as refrigerator 10.

On the exterior of the refrigerator 10, there is disposed an external access area 49 to receive drinking water and ice cubes. Upon a stimulus, a water dispenser 50 allows an outflow of drinking water into a user's receptacle. Upon another stimulus, an ice dispenser outlet 53 allows an outflow of whole ice cubes into a user's receptacle. Upon another stimulus, an ice dispenser outlet 53 allows an outflow of crushed ice cubes into a user's receptacle. There are two access doors, 32 and 34, to the fresh food compartment 12, and one access door 33 to the freezer compartment 14. Refrigerator 10 is contained within an outer case 16.

FIG. 2 illustrates the refrigerator 10 with its upper access doors in the open position. Refrigerator 10 includes food storage compartments such as a fresh food compartment 12 and a freezer compartment 14. As shown, fresh food compartment 12 and freezer compartment 14 are arranged in a bottom mount refrigerator-freezer configuration. Refrigerator 10 includes outer case 16 and inner liners 18 and 20. A space between outer case 16 and liners 18 and 20, and between liners 18 and 20, is filled with foamed-in-place insulation. Outer case 16 normally is formed by folding a sheet of a suitable material, such as pre-painted steel, into an inverted U-shape to form top and side walls of the case. A bottom wall of outer case 16 normally is formed separately and attached to the case side walls and to a bottom frame that provides support for refrigerator 10. Inner liners 18 and 20 are molded from a suitable plastic material to form fresh food compartment 12 and freezer compartment 14, respectively. Alternatively, liners 18, 20 may be formed by bending and welding a sheet of a suitable metal, such as steel. The illustrative embodiment includes two separate liners 18, 20 as it is a relatively large capacity unit and separate liners add strength and are easier to maintain within manufacturing tolerances.

The insulation in the space between liners 18, 20 is covered by another strip of suitable resilient material, which also commonly is referred to as a mullion 22. Mullion 22 in one embodiment is formed of an extruded ABS material.

Shelf 24 and slide-out drawer 26 can be provided in fresh food compartment 12 to support items being stored therein. A combination of shelves, such as shelf 28 is provided in freezer compartment 14.

Left side fresh food compartment door 32, right side fresh food compartment door 34, and a freezer door 33 close access openings to fresh food compartment 12 and freezer compartment 14, respectively. In one embodiment, each of the doors 32, 34 are mounted by a top hinge assembly 36 and a bottom hinge assembly (not shown) to rotate about its outer vertical edge between a closed position, as shown in FIG. 1, and an open position, as shown in FIG. 2. An ice making, storage and dispensing compartment 30 can be seen on the interior of left side fresh food compartment door 32.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the interior of exemplary ice making, storage and dispensing compartment 30 within refrigerator 10, without any ice cubes in an ice storage bin 40, an agitator 42, an axle 44, a crusher housing 48 and a motor 62. FIG. 3 further shows a view of the interior of crusher housing 48 which includes a crusher 54, a front wall 56, a sidewall 60 and a back wall 58. FIG. 3 also shows a view of the crusher 54 which includes a plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 and a plurality of fixed blades 66.

Ice making, storage and dispensing compartment 30 can be within fresh food compartment 12 or freezer compartment 14 of refrigerator 10. Ice making, storage and dispensing compartment 30 includes the ice storage bin 40. Ice storage bin 40 can be filled with whole ice cubes through addition of whole ice cubes by a user, or ice storage bin 40 can be filled with whole ice cubes from an automatic ice maker. Whole ice cubes within ice storage bin 40 settle in the bottom portion of ice storage bin 40. The bottom of ice storage bin 40 is angularly configured with a slope from the sidewalls of ice storage bin 40 towards a crusher housing opening to direct whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 into crusher housing 48 more efficiently. A crusher housing opening 68 can be seen in FIG. 4A.

In FIG. 4B motor 62 and agitator 42 are operatively affixed to axle 44. Axle 44 drives the rotation of agitator 42. Agitator 42 can rotate in either a counter-clockwise direction 80 or a clockwise direction 82 (FIG. 3). Agitator 42 facilitates the transport of whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 through crusher housing opening 68 (as seen in FIG. 4A) to crusher 54 (as seen in FIG. 3). Agitator 42 facilitates transport of whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 through crusher housing opening 68 to crusher 54 through rotation in either counter-clockwise direction 80 or clockwise direction 82. In one embodiment, agitator 42 has two raised portions 74 which extend at an angle from the face of agitator 42 and facilitate movement when they contact whole ice cubes. In other embodiments, agitator 42 can have one raised portion or a plurality of raised portions. Raised portions 74 facilitate movement of whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 through crusher housing opening to crusher 54 whether raised portions 74 are rotating in the counter-clockwise direction 80 or clockwise direction 82.

Referring back to FIG. 3 the interior of crusher housing 48 can be seen. In one embodiment, motor 62 is operatively affixed to back wall 58 and is operatively affixed to axle 44. In another embodiment motor 62 is affixed to left side fresh food compartment door 32 and coupled to axle 44. In this second embodiment, motor 62 and axle 44 are coupled in a fork/coupling arrangement so that removal of ice storage bin 40 breaks the engagement of motor 62 and axle 44. Back wall 58 has an opening so that axle 44 can pass from motor 62, through back wall 58, through crusher 54, through an opening in front wall 56 to agitator 42. Sidewalls 60 of crusher housing 48 seal back wall 58 to front wall 56 around the circumference of back wall 58 and front wall 56 while leaving a predetermined void 94. Predetermined void 94 allows the exit of whole ice cubes or crushed ice cubes from crusher housing 48 through ice dispenser outlet 53 to a user's receptacle. In addition to the opening for axle 44 in front wall 56, crusher housing opening 68 is configured in front wall 56 to allow for communication and transport of whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 to the interior of crusher housing 48. Crusher housing opening 68 is preferably directly above the plurality of fixed blades 66.

Axle 44 also passes through crusher 54 by passing through the plurality of fixed blades 66 and the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64. The plurality of fixed blades 66 remain stationary with respect to axle 44 and crusher housing 48. The plurality of fixed blades 66 can be in a plane which is perpendicular to axle 44, or the plurality of fixed blades 66 can be pitched at an angle. In one embodiment the plurality of fixed blades can be pitched at 60° from the plane which is perpendicular to axle 44. In one embodiment there can be three fixed blades 66, in other embodiments there can be one, two or more fixed blades 66.

The plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 rotate in a counter-clockwise direction 80 or a clockwise direction 82. A detailed view of a single rotatable crusher arm 64 and a single fixed blade 66 is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, front wall 56 is depicted as transparent.

Crusher housing opening 68 is an opening formed by the edge of front wall 56 and sidewall 60. Back wall 58 can be seen through crusher housing opening 68. Whole ice cubes from ice storage bin 40 (shown in FIG. 3) enter crusher housing 48 (shown in FIG. 3) through crusher housing opening 68. FIG. 5 shows a single rotatable crusher arm 64 and a single fixed blade 66 instead of a plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 and a plurality of fixed blades 66 for ease of illustration and understanding. Single fixed blade 66 is affixed to sidewall 60 and supported by axle 44, and does not rotate. Single fixed blade 66 has a leading crusher edge 67.

Rotatable crusher arm 64 is rotatably affixed to axle 44 and rotates in counter-clockwise direction 80 or clockwise direction 82. If rotatable crusher arm 64 rotates in counter-clockwise direction 80, the leading counter-clockwise edge 63 causes a whole ice cube 112 to move until whole ice cube 112 is being contacted by a leading counter-clockwise edge 63 while the other side of whole ice cube 112 contacts leading crusher edge 67. As rotatable crusher arm 64 continues rotating in counter-clockwise direction 80 past fixed blade 66, whole ice cube 112 is crushed into crushed ice 114 and is dispensed through predetermined void 94 and ice dispenser outlet 53 to a user. Rotatable crusher arm 64 and axle 44 can rotate 360° around in either counter-clockwise direction 80 or clockwise direction 82. If more crushed ice cubes are desired, rotatable crusher arm 64 will continue to rotate in counter-clockwise direction 80 until enough crushed ice cubes have been delivered.

If rotatable crusher arm 64 rotates in clockwise direction 82, a leading clockwise edge 65 causes a whole ice cube 110 to move until whole ice cube 110 falls downward towards predetermined void 94, passes through predetermine void 94 and ice dispenser outlet 53 and is dispensed to a user. If more whole ice cubes are desired, rotatable crusher arm 64 will continue to rotate in clockwise direction 82, past fixed blade 66 until enough whole ice cubes have been delivered.

The design of the serrations of leading counter-clockwise edge 63 and leading crusher edge 67 can be any design which is suitable to move whole ice cubes from the area around crusher housing opening 68 on leading counter-clockwise edge 63 to leading crusher edge 67 and subsequently crush the whole ice cubes. A serration 69 is one example of a design which is suitable to move whole ice cubes from the area around crusher housing opening 68.

The plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 can be in a plane which is perpendicular to axle 44, or the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 can be pitched at an angle. In one embodiment the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 can be pitched at 60° from the plane which is perpendicular to axle 44. If the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 are pitched at an angle, they act to draw whole ice cubes further into crusher housing 48, from crusher housing opening 68 towards back wall 58 as they rotate. In one embodiment there can be three rotatable crusher arms 64, in other embodiments there can be one, two or more rotatable crusher arms 64.

Ice dispenser 52 includes crusher housing 48, agitator 42, axle 44 and motor 62. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of exemplary ice dispenser control system 100. Ice dispenser control system 100 includes motor 62, a controller 90 and a user stimulus 92. The method of controlling motor 62 based on user input 92 is inputted into controller 90, for example, by programming into memory of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other programmable memory device.

Controller 90 controls the operation of motor 62 based on user stimulus 92. If user stimulus 92 is a stimulus to receive whole ice cubes, motor 62 will rotate axle 44 causing the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 and agitator 42 to rotate in clockwise direction 82 (as seen in FIG. 3). If user stimulus 92 is a stimulus to receive crushed ice cubes, motor 62 will rotate axle 44 causing the plurality of rotatable crusher arms 64 and agitator 42 to rotate in counter-clockwise direction 80 (as seen in FIG. 3).

An ice dispenser assembly is provided which provides cubed ice and crushed ice in an efficient and reliable manner. Manufacturing and cost of the ice dispenser assembly are reduced due to a reduced component number, since some convention components, such as barrier arms and friction washers, are eliminated. In addition, operational lifetime is increased through elimination of high wear and high failure rate friction washers, and operational efficiency is increased through elimination of a rotatable auger which causes ice jams and can also mechanically fail.

The fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to various specific embodiments thereof have been shown, described and pointed out, it will also be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. 

1. A refrigerator comprising: an ice making, storage and dispensing compartment; an ice storage bin positioned within the ice making, storage and dispensing compartment and configured to store whole ice cubes therein; an axle; an agitator drivingly connected to the axle; a crusher comprising: a plurality of fixed blades; a plurality of rotatable crusher arms affixed to the axle; a front wall having an opening vertically above the fixed blades which puts the crusher housing in communication with the ice storage bin; a back wall; and a sidewall sealing a portion of the front wall to a portion of the back wall, leaving a predetermined exit void in the sidewall to allow whole or crushed ice cubes to exit the crusher; and a motor drivingly connected to the axle, the rotatable crusher arms being configured to crush whole ice cubes between the plurality of fixed blades and the plurality of rotatable crusher arms to pass crushed ice to the exit void when rotated in a first direction and to deliver whole ice cubes to the exit void when rotated in a second opposite direction.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of rotatable crusher arms is pitched in a first direction.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of rotatable crusher arms is pitched at about 60° from the axis of the axle.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ice bin is positioned within a fresh food compartment of the refrigerator.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the agitator has one or more raised portions, the raised portions extending at an angle from a face of the agitator closest to the crusher.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rotatable crusher arms comprise three rotatable crusher arms.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of rotatable crusher arms comprise three rotatable crusher arms.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fixed blades comprise three fixed blades.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of fixed blades comprise three fixed blades.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is drivingly connected to the axle in a fork/coupling arrangement.
 11. A method of dispensing ice cubes from a refrigerator, the refrigerator including an ice making, storage and dispensing compartment and a controller for controlling the direction of rotation of an axle based on a user's input, the ice making, storage and dispensing compartment including an ice storage bin, a motor, the axle, the axle being drivingly connected to the motor, and an ice dispenser, the ice dispenser including an agitator mounted for rotation by the axle, for moving ice in the storage bin, a crusher housing, a plurality of rotatable crusher arms, the plurality of rotatable crusher arms being affixed to the axle, a plurality of fixed blades, an opening in the crusher housing allowing ice to be dispensed to a user and a wall between the crusher housing and ice storage bin configured to allow whole ice cubes to pass from the ice storage bin to the crusher housing, the method comprising: rotating the axle, in either a first direction or a second direction to facilitate the movement of whole ice cubes or crushed ice cubes, respectively, from the ice storage bin to the ice dispenser. 